Hard work paying off for Dingle in PGA Championship

Wynand Dingle held onto his lead in the South African PGA Championship, sponsored by African Bank, at St Francis Links on Friday and heads into the weekend determined to put his intense hard work over the past few months to good use.

Dingle signed for a second round of 68 to lead the field on 11 under par. The son of the Karoo is one stroke clear of young star Barend Botha and multiple Sunshine Tour winner Rourke van der Spuy. Botha produced a magnificent 64 on Friday, while Van der Spuy posted a 66.

Dingle has been here before in his career. He led the 2014 South African PGA Championship by three strokes going into the weekend. This time, he’s determined to use his experience and add his name to the illustrious list of champions in this tournament.

“My game feels good, the swing feels good, and I’m hitting the ball well,” he said.

“I’m putting well. I made a change to my putting grip a week ago and I feel confident. I’m looking forward to the weekend.”

But it’s the hours and hours of practice Dingle has put in which he feels are now showing the greatest reward.

“I’ve worked so hard over the past few months, and it’s beginning to pay back now. I worked on my putting in particular and took a bit of advice from here and there on this aspect of my game. So I feel good. This is such a prestigious tournament and there are so many great names on this trophy. I’d love to add mine to that list as well.”

Behind him, Botha is certainly showing his potential. He finished sixth in last week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf Final at Oubaai and is now firmly in contention going into the weekend at St Francis Links.

And JJ Senekal remains in contention as well just two shots off the lead on nine under par. Senekal’s second round of 68 was a morale booster for a professional who’s battled his way back from injury. And clearly, he’s drawing on the memories of returning to a St Francis Links course where he won his first Sunshine Tour event in 2013, and to an SA PGA Championship in which he finished third in 2014.

“It’s a good feeling and this is a place I like. I always play decent around here. The last year-and-a-half has been a challenging time with injury but I’ve fought through it. It’s a grind but we all know that and we’re all up for it. It’s part of the journey of where we want to get to. It’s an honour to be where I am right now and it would be an even greater honour to get my name on that trophy,” he said.

The South African PGA Championship is also proudly supported by the Eastern Cape Parks & Tourism Agency (ECPTA), the Sarah Baartman District Municipality, the Kouga Local Municipality, Momentum and Cape St Francis Resort.

SCORES:

-11 - Wynand Dingle 65 68

-10 - Barend Botha 70 64, Rourke van der Spuy 68 66

-9 - JJ Senekal 67 68, CJ du Plessis 69 66

-8 - Callum Mowat 68 68

-7 - Quintin Wilsnach 69 68, Deon Germishuys 68 69

-6 - Hennie O'Kennedy 72 66, Dylan Naidoo 68 70

-5 - Jean Hugo 69 70, Oliver Bekker 70 69, Heinrich Bruiners 67 72, Luke Brown 69 70, Nikhil Rama 69 70

-4 - Christiaan Burke 75 65, Gerhard Pepler 72 68, Anthony Michael 73 67, Robson Chinhoi 71 69, Estiaan Conradie 67 73, Dylan Mostert 73 67, Lyle Rowe 68 72

-3 - Christiaan Basson 70 71, Rhys West 68 73, Craig Ross 71 70, Jacob Oakley 72 69, Malcolm Mitchell 69 72, Nick Cunningham 68 73, Herman Loubser 71 70

-2 - Jean-Paul Strydom 69 73, Fredrik From 72 70, Trevor Fisher Jnr 74 68, George Coetzee 68 74, Ockie Strydom 72 70, Karabo Mokoena 74 68, Jaco Van Zyl 68 74, Danie Van Niekerk 71 71